


you make me feel like a fool

by dinottosaur



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Angst, Bubbline, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, Post-Finale, Slow Burn, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, author's first multichapter fic, bubbline is CANON QUEEN, no beta-read be die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-08 10:30:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16427630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinottosaur/pseuds/dinottosaur
Summary: basically marceline and PB are dating after the finale. little snippets of their time together.





	1. It feels right

_Your name is a triangle,_

   
 _Your heart is a square…_

   
   
Marceline flew into Princess Bubblegum’s room, invisible, entering through the window she always left open for her. This was a habit that Bonnibel had made, after she and Marceline started dating again. Though it was hard at first, to get their schedules to overlap, they could make do. They always did.

   
She snuck up behind Bonnibel, who had been staying up to work on an experiment. Marceline figured she’d be pulling another all-nighter, so she came to visit earlier.

   
“Boo,” She said, tapping the pink-haired girl’s shoulder.

   
Bonnibel jumped, dropping some test tubes and acids in the process. She stiffened at the sight of an intruder, and then relaxed when she saw it was just Marceline.

   
“Oh, it’s just you,” She let out a sigh of relief.

   
“Um, sorry about your equipment. Didn’t think that would happen,” Marceline wore a sheepish smile on her face.  _Ugh, two seconds talking to Bonnie and I already screwed up. Jeez!_

   
“Ah, don’t worry about it, it’s fine. I was just redoing an old experiment,” She gave Marceline a reassuring smile, “why are you up so early? I thought you’d be sleeping in.”

   
Marceline hummed in response. “I went to bed earlier. No biggie. Uh, I wanted to give you something,” She pulled out a box containing several cupcakes, “Sorry they look all dull. I needed breakfast on the way over here. They still taste like strawberries, though…”

   
The cupcakes were sloppily decorated, due to Marceline’s lack of experience in baking, but the frosting on the cupcakes was just legible enough for Bonnie to read,  _happy one month!_ written in gray frosting. That was probably the vampire’s breakfast. At least, it was the thought Marceline put into it. That’s what Bonnibel loved.

   
“Uh, you don’t have to eat it, if you don’t want to. You can use it to make candy people or something…”

   
“No no, Marcy this is great! I actually got something for you too,” Bonnibel said, rummaging around her drawers, until she found a box decorated with red wrapping paper, “I thought you could use this, since your last one broke.”

   
Curiously, Marceline unwrapped it. “A coffee maker? Nice!” She turned it around. It was black, and had a skull design printed on the side of it.

   
She pulled Princess Bubblegum into an embrace. 

   
“Whoa, Marcy, it was only a coffee maker,” Bonnibel teased.

   
Marceline giggled, further nestling her face into the crook of Bonnie’s neck, “Maybe I just wanted an excuse to hug you, Bons.” 

   
“Jeez, you’re so dramatic,” She pried Marceline’s arms off her shoulders.

   
“Hey, since you’re here right now, do you want to get some brunch? Or dinner, for me.”

   
Marceline grinned, and lifted Bonnibel up, off her feet. “Yeah, do you want to go the bar? Make up for that one time you stood me up on our first date?”

   
“I told you, I needed to attend a meeting! And I said sorry,” She laughed.

   
“Heh, whatever you say, Bonnie.” 

   
They flew in the sky for a while, Marceline holding Bonnibel in her arms as they looked at the land in a bird’s eye view. The weather was nice. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right, like the two of them spending time together after decades of hurt. Just right. She could feel it; This is how things were always supposed to be. 

   
How long has it been since the last time they did this? Four-hundred years, maybe. It was before Bonnie’s kingdom started growing. Back when they were dating for the first time. That damned kingdom. It kept growing, and growing. Took over Bonnie’s life. Took Bonnie away from her. Stupid Mr. Cream Puff. Whatever Bonnibel was doing in that kingdom, it made her really  _sad._

   
She shook her head, ‘ _No! I’m not thinking about that today. It’s been four-hundred years. Get a grip, Marceline.’_ Today was going to be  _making up_  for lost times, not  _thinking_ about lost times. She was going to dedicate this night to making Bonnie feel happy. Relaxed. Anything but stressed and guilty. Marceline would never forgive herself if she did anything to hurt Bonnie.

   
“Marcy?” Bonnibel asked, cautiously.

   
“Yeah?”

   
“All those years ago, when we first met...Why did you decide to save me from the Ice k--I mean, Simon?”

   
“It seemed like the right thing to do, I guess,” Marceline went on, “you were the first princess he’d ever kidnapped. And you seemed really sad. And I thought, a girl as pretty as you shouldn’t be sad.”

   
Marceline thought about the first time she saw Bonnie. She was visiting Simon in his kingdom, as usual, and she then saw Bonnibel in that iced prison cell. Poor, poor, Bonnibel.

_Cold. Weak. Laying inside the ice prison that Simon--No, the Ice King had made. Normal Simon wouldn’t have done that._

   
 _The pink princess looked terrible, like she would get frostbite at any given moment. It made Marceline feel horrible, seeing a girl in a state like this, helpless and unable to move. Frozen in place until someone came to help. But there was no one else around, besides the Ice King, who was sound asleep._

   
 _She snuck the princess out of the cell, and took her to the treehouse, and tried her best to clean her up, despite not knowing how to take care of a frozen piece of gum. But still, she waited for the pink girl to wake up, cleaning up her wounds and rushing into the room with warm blankets, as well as food and water._

   
 _Turns out, the princess was perfectly fine, and thanked the vampire for her hospitality and care before leaving. She’d left behind a thank-you note when she left, followed by a map leading to the Candy Kingdom. “Come visit me sometime--I’d like to be friends. A gesture of thanks, for saving me” It said. She smiled._

   
 _It felt good to save someone. Really, really good._

   
“Yeah,” Marceline breathed out, “Yeah. I remember.” 


	2. Talk to me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> there is so much angst in this chapter you can bathe in it :)

_I love to see you,_

_Way over there…_

   
   
   


Bonnibel lay on top of her bed in her pajamas, reading books to help her fall asleep.  _I should really stop going to bed this late,_  she thought. The Candy Kingdom was so quiet now that Cinnamon Bun had gone to the Fire Kingdom.

   


She sighed. Ruling this Kingdom was easy. Almost  _too_  easy. It was unnerving. 

   


Then she heard a panicked knock on her window, making her jump. She wasn’t expecting any visitors this late at night. It was three in the morning. “Who could be awake at this hour?” She mumbled to herself. But she felt a sudden rush of relief when she saw who it was.

   


Marceline’s silhouette was clear in the moonlight, pressed against the glass. Bonnibel rushed over to open the window.

   


“Marcy! Hey, I didn’t expect you to come visit me…” She stopped as she saw Marceline up close. “...What happened?”

   


The vampire was covered in bruises like she’d volunteered to be a gym’s punching bag. Her eyes were glazed over, tears threatening to spill out.  _Oh no, this is bad, I haven’t seen her cry like this since we broke up,_  Bonnibel thought.Marceline was panting and coughing, trying to catch her breath after flying as fast as she could do get to the Candy Kingdom. 

   


“Marcy..?” 

   


The vampire fell to her knees as Bonnibel put her arms around her, trying to catch her fall. Marceline made a small whimpering noise as silent tears started to fall down her cheeks. Her body shook as she sobbed, coughing as she tried not to hiccup.

   


_I’m so sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong or why you’re crying, and I don’t know what to do because you’ve always been the one to give me comfort, it’s never been the other way around,_ Bonnibel struggled to talk as her girlfriend wept in her arms, soaking her pajamas with tearstains.

   


_Dammit, why can’t I say something? Come on, Bonnie, you can do better than this,_ she thought,  _I’m a scientist, not a therapist._

   


“Marceline, what’s wrong? Please tell me what’s wrong,” She whispered.

   


The vampire refused to look up, but after gasping for air several times, she finally choked out a few words.

   


“A-Ash,” She sobbed, “I ran into Ash on my way here.”

   


Bonnibel felt the color drain from her face. Ah, that guy. Of  _course_  it was him. He’d trapped Marceline in a toxic relationship for so long before, it took years for Marceline to break up with him. A lot of emotional turmoil followed the break up, and the vampire had gone silent afterwards. She cut all contact with anyone close to her. It wasn’t a good plan for healing, but Bonnibel chose to respect Marceline’s choices at the time.

   


Regardless, Ash was still a flaming pile of dog waste.

   


“What’d he do, Marcy? Talk to me. Let it out,” Bonnibel spoke quietly, rubbing Marceline’s back.

   


“He..He chased after me after I made eye contact with him. I told him to go away, to leave me alone, t-that I was seeing someone else, but  _Bonnie_ , he wouldn’t listen!” she went on, her voice shaky, “When I tried to fly away, he grabbed my foot and said he wouldn’t let go u-until I agreed to date h-him again.”

   


When given a choice to fight or flee, Marceline would usually fight. At least, this was the case for most encounters the vampire had. But not with Ash. He knew too much about Marceline. Which is why the vampire’s fear levels skyrocketed every time she saw Ash (Even if she wouldn’t show it).

   


Bonnibel felt anger boiling up inside her upon Marceline’s statement.  _Jeez, this_ _guy’s_ _got some nerve!_

   


“Did he do anything else?”

   


Marceline nodded. “He threw me against a tree and tried to tie me up, saying that the break-up was my fault, that I was useless, that whoever I was dating, I would eventually mess everything up, but…”

   


Each time Marceline’s voice cracked, the princess could feel her own heart doing the same.

   


Bonnibel loosened her grip on Marceline. “Marcy, no, no, don’t listen to him, he’s wrong…”

   


“He was right, Bonnie!” the vampire snapped, making Bonnibel jump.

   


“The last time I dated you, I messed everything up. You had your responsibilities with this kingdom, and I was just another burden in your life at the time. I tried to stay cool because I thought that’s what you liked about me. I tried to be there when you needed me, but when you didn’t do the same, I got so damn  _anxious and paranoid,_  because the whole time, I thought you hated me!” 

   


Oh.

   


_Oh,_ Bonnibel thought,  _Is_ _that what she’s been thinking this whole time? Why didn’t she tell me?_

   


_Ah, that’s right. I stood her up like a million times. I’m such a mess._

   


“Marceline, none of that was your fault. I was the one who was forgetting about the dates, not you. I’m sorry I stood you up all those times. I would’ve made more time for you if I knew this would happen,” She said.

   


Marceline was silent and didn’t move.  _Okay, good, she’s listening. She’s considering what I have to say,_  The princess thought. 

   


“I promise you, even if we screwed up the first time, we can fix it now. It’s not the same anymore. The kingdom is more calm now, more stable. I don’t have to worry so much about it anymore. I can make time for you. _Marcy, this is what second chances are for_ ,” She finished.

   


Marceline looked up, her eyes puffy from crying. 

   


“I’d like to go slow this time, Bonnie. No more rushing. I don’t like it when things get hectic,” Marceline said, hugging the princess, “It only means I don’t get to see you as much.”

   


Bonnibel hugged the vampire back, burying her face into the crook of her neck. Somehow, the two of them were taking small, torn scraps and stitching them back together. It felt nice to have Marceline back again. 

   


They sat beside Bonnibel’s bed for a long moment, holding hands and staying in the presence of each other, in a comfortable silence as Marceline calmed down. There was no sound in the room but the shaky breaths of the vampire, and the steady humming of the princess.

   


“So,” Marceline said, breaking the quiet atmosphere, “No more rushing?”

   


“Yeah,” the princess exhaled, “No more rushing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wildly inconsistent update schedule!! i update when i can. 
> 
> my tumblr (main blog) dinottosaur.tumblr.com
> 
> my instagram (art account) instagram.com/dinottosaur

**Author's Note:**

> kudos are appreciated!! this is my first fic over 1k words, so bear with me.


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